Somehow it is always gorgeous when we’re there and this weekend was no different. With blue skies and temperatures in the mid-60s we took full advantage of the weather spending the majority of the time outside playing games, sitting by either one of the two outdoor fireplaces, going for walks and bike rides on the trail system, exploring the fantastic farmers’ market, reading, talking and catching up, and eating. It was a great weekend!

We also had the privilege of hearing Paul Young, author of “The Shack” at the Cornwall Church on Saturday night. We have both read the book, but had never heard Mr. Young speak before. He gave a very authentic and transparent talk that you can listen to HERE, if you’re interested. Regardless of your view of the book, it was an impactful talk.

A relaxing time with great company made this three day weekend feel like a mini-vacation!

Derin, Stacey, John and Erin try out the hula station at the farmers' market

As we do when we get behind, here is a quick overview in words and pictures…

• Spent an hour one Saturday morning with friends who just got baby chicks! Their boys were enamored with the chicks, although they are still learning that all-so-important word, gentle. More photos on Facebook if you search for “PhotoMacy” you can find the album called “Morgans and Chicks.”

• Cheered on a friend finishing her first marathon! Way to go, Tami!

• Got more serious about training for the Blue Lake Triathlon (Erin) which takes place June 5th.

• Prepared for our second maternity photo session by doing our own photo shoot around the neighborhood.

• John has been taking classes at the Apple Store with Mac Genius and friend, Bret Vogel, specifically spending time learning a recording software, Logic Pro. This means he tries to play and write music at least semi-regularly. He has gotten good use out of the piano Erin’s parents are storing at our house while they travel the country.

• Eating free of gluten, eggs, dairy, almonds, and soy! John needs to take these items out of his diet for six weeks to see if his head congestion which he’s been dragging around for about 8-9 months improves. We’re almost half-way through the six weeks. It hasn’t been bad! Our cupboards are full of things we don’t typically stock like tapioca flour and brown rice tortillas and are absent of the loaves of bread and baked goods we consumed weekly. I actually think we are both feeling pretty good! If you have any favorite “free” recipes, please pass them along!

• Spent last weekend in Bellingham with family. We will share more about that soon!

The weekend has been full of fun–a Hatch family gathering, reuniting us at the temporary home of Erin’s sister and her family, in Del Rio, a border-town in southwest Texas. It’s been good to be together. We have enjoyed catching up; playing games (freeze tag, golf, boom-chicka-boom, Chutes-n-Ladders); playing with Katie & CJ’s Chespeake Retriever, Boone; competing in Wii tourmaments; cruising and wakeboarding in the Amistad Reservoir; meeting and bbq-ing with Katie & CJ’s friends; and laughing a lot.

1. Graduated from George Fox University 2000
2. Erin finished Master’s Degree from Ithaca College 2001
3. Erin worked at Indiana State University in 1 year internship 2001-2002
4. John started working at Nike 2001
5. Erin took job at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX 2002
6. Started dating  2002
7. Erin moved to Oregon and took job at Portland Community College 2003
8. John gets new job with Nike GPS 2003
9. Started the weekly tradition of “Family Night” 2004
10. Got engaged and then married 2004
11. Bought a house 2004
12. Erin took a job at George Fox University 2005
13. Grandpa Roy passed away 2005
14. Erin started working on a book with colleagues from grad school 2005
15. John ran the Honolulu Marathon 2005
16. Grandpa Williams passed away 2006
17. Traveled to Costa Rica 2007
18. Decided to travel around the world 2007
19. Erin continued writing the book 2008
20. Quit our jobs and left the country 2008
21. Erin published “Golfing With Your Eyes Closed” 2009
22. Returned home from travel 2009
23. Blessed with jobs at George Fox University (Erin) and Nike (John) 2009
24. Started a business (more on this soon!)

Of course there’s tons of other things that fall in the gaps of each of these big items and should make the list, namely our families who have given us uber cool spouses, awesome nieces and nephews, and so many memories (Lins, John W., CJ, Dusty, Bailey, Marissa, Cassidy, Kylan, Addison, Paul) AND the amazing friends who have journeyed with us in that time–both those we still see regularly and those who we were with only for a season.

There are really so many more important and significant life events that have happened over the past 10 years. These have been years that have formed who will be forevermore–these are years that have truly shaped our beliefs, our friendships, our worldview, our traditions, our family habits, our relationship with each other, our passions, our careers, our lifestyle, and our goals and vision for our future. Pretty cool, hey?

The celebrating continued with New Year’s Eve–another tradition that was seen through fresh eyes. We hosted friends for a fun evening which included ping-pong, BINGO, a white elephant exchange, clanging and banging pots and pans, a midnight run, and a table full of delicious food and drinks. Again, it was good to be together.

It’s been great to have a new perspective on the usual things of the holidays and we hope to find ways to see this season with fresh eyes each year.

It ain't a party until someone's wearing a lampshade, right?

The guys gather around to find out where the child stars are today from Pete's People magazine

Midnight run... short shorts, gold leggings, and rain... great combo

]]> http://www.johnanderinmacy.com/2010/01/fresh-eyes/feed/ 1 http://www.johnanderinmacy.com/2009/12/kickin-off-christmas/ http://www.johnanderinmacy.com/2009/12/kickin-off-christmas/#comments Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:43:19 +0000 erin http://www.johnanderinmacy.com/?p=2382 Although the tree has been up for a couple of weeks and the house has been decorated and we have already watched Christmas Vacation–all sure signs of Christmas–we took the Christmas celebration to the next level the past few days. Beginning Friday night with a sing-a-long to White Christmas; carrying into Saturday with a family holiday breakfast at The Allison, seeing 300 tuba-ists play carols in Pioneer Courthouse Square, checking out the chocolate/marzipan/gingerbread building at The Benson and the memorabilia of the old Meier & Frank Santaland; and wrapping up with a beautiful service at Newberg Friends Church Sunday night.

Showing a little "my soul" muscle

Thanks for this shot, Sherry!

Paul Toshe

Addison Serkalem

]]> http://www.johnanderinmacy.com/2009/09/seriously/feed/ 2 http://www.johnanderinmacy.com/2009/09/too-big-to-miss/ http://www.johnanderinmacy.com/2009/09/too-big-to-miss/#comments Sun, 06 Sep 2009 17:28:20 +0000 erin http://www.johnanderinmacy.com/?p=2061 “Too Big To Miss” is the annual tagline of the Oregon State Fair, but this year it was also a label that could have been applied to the group we faired with–all of us sporting bright golden-yellow t-shirts with our own tagline, “the family that fairs together, stays together.” (As quoted by Molly Filosi; t-shirt design and printing by Rachel Morell.) The fifteen of piled into cars and made our way to the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem for a day packed with thing things you do at a fair: the eating of greasy, overpriced food; the viewing of farm animals; the watching of people; the oohing and aahing over beautiful photography; the bargaining for as-seen-on-TV items in the commercial area (“but wait…”); and the doubled-over laughing at the Travis Fox hypnotist show, among other things.

Going to the fair is a Macy tradition dating back to the time John was about 10 years old. The Williams grandparents took him and his siblings to the fair and the tradition has continued–twenty two years later we are still going! (Too big to miss, I tell you!) Because the annual affair began with the Williams’ we are always pleased when Grandma Edna wants to come along–at 90 years old she still wants to spend an entire day walking around the fair with a bunch of “kids” and we are so glad for it. She was a trooper once again, even providing her famous rice krispy treats with peanut butter and willingly sporting the t-shirt.

If you have never been to a state fair or a fair of any sort, it is surely an experience not too miss–well, it’s at least a once in a lifetime must-do. Garrison Keilor, of  A Prairie Home Companion, describes it beautifully in a National Geographic article. Somehow the fair experience is relatively consistent from state to state, perhaps taken more seriously in some places than others, but still with a similar rhythm, similar oddities, and similar food. Maybe we’ll see you next year?

The second event of the weekend was the 2009 Providence Bridge Pedal which gave us the opportunity to ride across seven of Portland’s 12 bridges (Hawthorne, Ross Island, Marquam, Burnside, Broadway, Fremont, and St. John’s). Favorites included the Marquam (riding on the interstate was a rush!), the Fremont, and the Hawthorne. We also enjoyed cruising a brief section of I-405 and getting up to speeds between 30-36 mph down N Willamette Ave. The 24 mile ride gave us a fun look at Portland neighborhoods we’d never seen and a beautiful view of the city as we crossed each bridge.